NBA Finals: Spurs rally past Heat in Game 1

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs handled the Heat, and the heat, during a sweltering start to the NBA Finals.

Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs beat Miami 110-95 on Thursday night in Game 1 inside a steamy AT&T Center to win the opener of the first finals rematch since 1998.

The Spurs finished the game with a 26-9 run as four-time MVP LeBron James sat on the Miami bench wrapped in iced towels and then limped to the locker room.

"I lost all the fluids that I was putting in in the last couple of days out there on the floor," James said. "It was an unusual circumstance, I never played in a building like that. It's been a while, like high school."

The Spurs said an electrical failure for the power that runs the air conditioning system had occurred. The result was temperatures that soared to 90 degrees in the second half.

Ron Klempner, acting executive director of the NBA Players Association, sent a text saying the conditions were unsuitable for the game.

"The playing conditions for tonight's game were completely unacceptable from the opening tip," Klempner wrote. "In a situation like this, there needs to be more open communication before a decision is made that could potentially place players at risk."

Duncan, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands who had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, said he could not remember playing in such heat since his childhood.

"It was pretty bad out there," Duncan said. "I think we were both worn out and tired. I think it got to a couple of guys, cramps started setting in."

Manu Ginobili had 16 points and 11 assists, and Tony Parker added 19 points and eight assists for the Spurs, who shot 59 percent and improved to 6 for 6 in NBA Finals Game 1s.

James finished with 25 points but played only 33 minutes, and Miami was outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter.

"After I came out of the game, they kind of took off," James said. "And it was frustrating sitting out and not be able to help our team."

Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and Chris Bosh had 18 for the Heat, who wilted in temperatures that soared to 90 degrees in the second half.

"It was tough on both teams," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out. ... It was really hot out there."

James, who had cramping issues two years ago in the Finals, had to ask for a break in the fourth quarter and was getting treatment during a 15-4 Spurs run that turned around the game.

"It felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping to the bench like that. But we still had a chance after that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

James came back in and made a basket that cut it to two points with about 4 minutes left but couldn't even run back on defense, promptly putting his hand up and lingering at the baseline until help arrived to take him off for good. Danny Green followed with 3-pointer to trigger what became a 16-3 run to end the game.

"You could see the heat was getting to a lot of guys. If I played as many minutes as he did, I'd probably be cramping up, too," said Green, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter.

The crowd chanted "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!" late in the game, which was just what the fans themselves were trying to do.

The Spurs apologized for the inconvenience but also seemed to poke fun of it, playing songs with "hot" in the lyrics over the sound system.

James was the MVP of the series last year when the Heat rallied from five points down in the final half-minute of regulation to win Game 6 in overtime, then won a Game 7 that was close the whole way for its second straight championship.

A rematch was widely anticipated and was close almost throughout. The Heat led 86-79 after Bosh's four-point play with 9:38 remaining in the game, but it was all San Antonio from there.

The Spurs ended up extending their NBA-record streak to eight straight home playoff wins by 15 or more points.